The United Arab Emirates University is celebrating the International Translation Day, declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations on the 29 th September of every year, to acknowledge translation professionals and the role translation plays in spreading cultures and knowledge among nations.
On this occasion, Dr. Moza Obaid Al- Tenaijy, Chair of the Languages and Literature Department, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, UAEU, stated that “Translation plays a vital role in promoting solidarity and empathy among individuals by facilitating communication between humans of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. In addition, translation contributes to fostering values of peace, forgiveness, and co-existence among people of different social classes”.
“The United Arab Emirates and our wise leadership paid great efforts to develop and support the translation movement, which is reflected through the various initiatives and projects aimed at promoting translation status both inside and outside the country. For example, “The Translation Challenge” project launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the “KALIMA” project launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin ZayedAl Nahyan, Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, with the aim of reviving the translation movement in the Arab world. In addition to “The Abu Dhabi International Translation Conference” and “The Sheikh Zayed Book Award” which is one of the world’s most important literary awards presented to intellectuals and talents whose writings and translations of humanities are significant. Soon, the UAE will be hosting the largest international event “EXPO 2020 Dubai”, to build communication bridges among peoples of the world regardless of their cultures and languages, which are no longer considered an obstacle under translation”, she added.
“The United Arab Emirates University believes in the essential and vital role translation plays in bringing the world’s peoples and cultures close together, facilitating communication and understanding, which in turns contribute to the development and enhancement of thethe international world peace and security. In addition to the languages’ vital contributions to sustainable development and ensuring cultural diversity and positive constructive dialogue between cultures. Therefore, the UAEU is keen to promote and provide everyone with good education through offering top notch academic curricula, teaching international languages like German, Korean, and French with the aim of contributing to building comprehensive knowledge communities, maintaining the country’s cultural heritage, and encouraging the coming generations to benefit from languages in scientific research and technological applications to reach sustainable development”, Dr. Moza elaborated.
Dr. Moza Al-Tenaijy concluded her statement by saying, “we are proud of UAEU’s commitment to support and provide the job market with professional specialized cadres, by qualifying its students in their different majors. The Translation Studies Program was established in 2004 in order to meet the country’s needs of translators specialized in the fields of media, business, law, literature, medicine, and other disciplines”.
